Author: hall2017

Unfortunately my year of extreme has gone from one extreme to another. I have been ground to a halt by a fractured cuboid bone in my foot. I was unlucky enough to fall down a man hole in our garden whilst mowing due to a faulty cover which collapsed beneath me. You couldn’t even make it up and I am gutted to be taken down by something so ridiculous and completely out of my control.

The doctors have told me that the recovery period will be around 3-5 months and to stand down from any more sporting events this year. Safe to say my running partner is very disappointed…

I very much appreciate all the support people have given this challenge. Its not over yet and I still have 5 months to go for my no booze for 2017 commitment.

I am going to be planning another ultra event as soon as I am fully recovered.

For those who have already contributed or pledged, thank you, and for anyone who would like to support the final 5 months on the wagon you can donate directly on my Virgin Money Giving page at Hall2017Donate

Last Sunday I set out on my final long training ride of 100 miles ahead of the 200 mile Chase the Sun bike ride. What started as a training ride turned into a real test of endurance which pushed me to my limits. One of my original intentions of the 2017 Hall Resolution campaign was to test my limits and I can safely say that in terms of my cycling ability, I have reached my limit of distance in the time I gave myself to train up for the Chase the Sun event. I rode 100.35 miles in 8 hours and 37 minutes with a total climb of nearly 4000 feet. I started training at the beginning of May and I am relatively happy in being able to complete 100 miles in only a month back in the saddle after 5 years of no cycling. I will not however be attempting the 200 mile Chase the Sun ride as there comes a point when I would rather admit my limitations and avoid injury.

I am therefore going to re work my events and instead of taking part in Chase the Sun this month and the Coast to Coast race in September I am going to train back up to complete the Thames Path Challenge on the 9th September. The Thames Path Challenge is a 100km ultra marathon following the river Thames. The full route begins at Bishop’s Park, next to Putney Bridge, and on through Kew and Richmond past the last non-tidal lock at Teddington. It passes the Royal palace of Hampton Court, beneath Windsor Castle and on through beautiful countryside to Henley.

I am going to enjoy a few weeks rest before gearing up for the final event of the year. I continue to stay on the band wagon and have now reached month 6 without touching a drop of alcohol. I have to admit that the benefits of no alcohol have far outweighed the moments of temptation.

For those who have already contributed or pledged, thank you, and for anyone interested you can donate directly on my Virgin Money Giving page at Hall2017Donate

My training is now fully underway for the 200 Mile Chase The Sun bike ride on 16th June. Having not ridden a bike in 5 years I have now ticked off a 50 mile training run today, 36 miles the week before and 25 miles the week before last. It has literally been a pain in the arse and I massively underestimated the transition from running to cycling.

Today I clocked 50.44 miles in 3 hours 43 minutes and apparently burnt 3,000 calories. I averaged about 13.6 mph which will be my target average for the 200 miles and would put me on track for a 14 hour finishing time. Currently I feel like that is going to be highly unlikely given the pain is going to also be multiplied by 4.

I now have 75 mile & 100 mile training rides in the diary before the big day so I now need all the help I can get and if anyone is interested in keeping up my motivation you can donate directly on my Virgin Money Giving page at Hall2017Donate

I am beyond relieved to be able to say I have completed my first challenge of the year. It took a gruelling 21 hours and 21 minutes to complete and here is the proof, safe to say it was wasn’t fast or dainty!!!

I want to say a huge thank you for everyones support and an even bigger thank you to my wife, Susanna Hall, who has been the silent hero behind the scenes keeping everything moving whilst I have been running through fields most weekends.

I am now going to enjoy a few days of indulging my 12,000 calorie deficiency and a few days of rest before I start my training for Chase the Sun which is in only six weeks time. I pick up my new bike on the weekend and will start getting as many miles in as I can before the arse destroying 200 mile ride across England.

For those who have already contributed or pledged, thank you, and for anyone interested in keeping up my motivation you can contact me directly on email with a pledge to hall2017resolution@gmail.com or donate directly on my Virgin Money Giving page at Hall2017Donate

I have broken into ultra marathon territory this weekend with a gruelling 45km / 28mile trail run with the machine of a wingman, George Lewis.

The run took a mind boggling 6 hours and 35 minutes, climbing a total of 400 metres and burning in excess of 4000 calories but with the beautiful backdrop of the Oxfordshire countryside.

We reached the 16 mile mark at 3 hours 30 minutes and thought we were on track for a strong finishing time however the second half was an entirely different kettle of fish with the final 11 miles taking 3 hours to complete.

With the 66 mile ultra on the Isle of Wight looming this weekend has been a serious wake up call. Long runs alone will not prepare me for this challenge and I will now have to commit time to the gym for some serious leg & core strength training.

For anyone new to this blog, my father died of cancer on 30th May 2015 and I wanted to do something significant in his memory and whilst doing so raise money for Sobell House Hospice Charity, an Oxford based palliative care hospice who looked after him so well in his final days and Cancer Research UK, a cancer research and awareness charity in the UK.

For those who have already contributed or pledged, thank you, and for anyone interested you can contact me directly on email with a pledge to hall2017resolution@gmail.com or donate directly on my Virgin Money Giving page at Hall2017Donate

I am super excited to announce that Lalani & Co have agreed to support 2017 Hall Resolution.

Lalani & Co are the specialists in fine single-batch tea. Their seasonal collection holds some of the most flavour-expressive teas in the world. Each one has a flavour created by its provenance; the producer, region, season of picking and style of making.

Single-batch tea is a craft drink like a single-cask whisky or vintage wine. Lalani obtain these teas from family-owned gardens and treat them with care, ageing some of them, designing tea lists and tea pairing menus for restaurants and supplying to discerning tea drinkers across the world.

Lalani & Co have very generously agreed to sponsor £500 along with a supply of fine tea for the rest of the year which offers me the perfect solution to a year without alcohol. I will be transformed from amateur tea drinker into tea connoisseur.

I look forward to keeping everyone updated about my journey in tea exploration with Jameel Lalani & the team at Lalani & Co.

After accumulating 11 years of experience as a personal trainer, Shane Williams felt he wasn’t able to challenge himself any further and he wanted to find a way to make personal training available to a wider audience and not limited to private clients.

So in January 2015 he decided to start his own fitness brand NSNG, designed to target a mass audience. NSNG offers both 1-2-1 personal training as well as a subscription service to Shane’s workout videos which showcases his many years of experience.

Shane has now taken on his biggest challenge (no pun intended)….ME.

Shane & NSNG has agreed support the challenge and has given me a set of 1-2-1 personal training sessions in order to keep me on track to complete the series of ultra endurance events.